James's Prank
by albusseverus91
Summary: One-shot.  When his son pulls a prank that ends up hurting someone he cares about how will Harry react?


**AN: I started this story as a journal entry for my creative writing class and later expanded and revised it. Please review and let me know what you think.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. That honor belongs to Jo Rowling (and she's not selling). **

"James Sirius Potter!"

_Uh-oh_, I thought, gulping. _Dad sounds MAD, which. Which means he KNOWS._

"James get your butt up here now!" my dad called again. I started to trudge slowly up the stairs towards his office. I was doomed, that was for sure, if dad knew what I did.

_It was just a stupid prank_, I thought bitterly. I _didn't mean for it to get out of hand like it did and hurt people_. Though, if I was honest with myself, I knew I deserved whatever was coming just as I'd deserved to lose all those points for Gryffindor and the month's worth of detentions I'd have after the Christmas hols. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door to my dad's office.

"Come in," he said and his voice was strained, as if he was trying his hardest not to shout again. "Sit." I sat immediately in the leather armchair he'd indicated and stared down at my shoes. "Look at me," he commanded. I did so, and his face was controlled, but I could see the anger and, even worse, disappointment there just beneath the surface. "Explain," he said thrusting Professor McGonagall's letter forward. "Now."

"I just wanted to play a bit of a joke on everyone," I began quietly "to celebrate the start of Christmas hols, you know? I thought it would be funny to spike everyone's pumpkin juice with a potion that would turn their hair red and green for a few hours, so I made the potion and gave it to the house elves to mix with the juice. Then and at dinner that night I had water and sat back to watch my handiwork take effect. Pretty soon everyone's hair was changing color and it _was_ really funny at first. Nearly everyoneEveryone was laughing, even some of except the Slytherins. But then…" I trailed off. Dad knew what happened if he'd read McGonagall's letter and I didn't want to continue.

"Well?"

"Then Teddy took a sip of his pumpkin juice and he went all strange. His hair didn't change color like the others but his face started to swell and he couldn't talk. One of his friends, Daniel, noticed and said Ted was having an allergic reaction to whatever was in the pumpkin juice. Dan pulled out some muggle device called an epi-pen and stabbed Ted in the leg with it, which made him breathe a little better. Then Dan took Teddy to the hospital wing. Madame Pomfrey said it was definitely an allergic reaction and that if Dan hadn't used his epi-pen, Ted probably would have died." I looked down at my shoes again unable to continue, hoping my dad wouldn't see the tears welling up in my eyes. Crying was for babies, not Hogwarts students. I heard my dad sigh, but I just kept staring intently down at my shoes.

"James look at me," he said and his voice was calm, but I couldn't stand to see the disgust and shame I was sure I would find written all over his face. I shook my head. "James." My dad's voice had a slight warning tone to it so I looked up. "James," my dad began, but I cut him off.

"You don't have to say it. I know I missed up big time and you're ashamed of me. You should be. I'm ashamed of me too." When I finished I looked down at the floor again.

"James I'm not ashamed of you," my dad said and I looked up, shocked. I hadn't been expecting _that_ at all.

"You're not? But I almost killed Teddy, I used the house elves to play a prank, and I broke a lot of school rules. I don't even deserve to be a Gryffindor."

"No James I'm not. When you found out your prank had hurt Teddy what did you do?"

"Well I went to the hospital wing with him and Dan because I wanted to make sure he was okay, and then I went and told Professor McGonagall that I was the one who'd played the prank and it was all my fault." I was confusedconfussed, what did that have to do with anything? My dad must have somehow guessed my unasked question though because the next words out of his mouth answered it.

"Exactly, when you found out what your prank had caused you owned up to the mistake and confessed taking full responsibility for your actions even though you knew the consequences. Not many would;, that takes courage that would make any father proud and certainly makes you more than worthy of your place in Gryffindor."

"Really?" I asked.

"Really," my dad assured me. "Tomorrow, "and tomorrow we'll go to see Teddy so that you can apologize and so that you know no lasting harm was done."

"But what if he hates me?"

"He won't hate you James. I can promise you that," my dad was smiling as if at some private joke, but I didn't know what it was.

The next day I was nervous as we walked up to Teddy's house. How would he and his grandmother react when they saw me? They had to know what happened was my fault by now. McGonagall or my dad had to of told them. I took a deep breath as my dad nodded and I knocked on the door. Mrs. Tonks opened it almost immediately, and I wondered if she had been waiting in the hall for us.

"Hello Harry, hello James. It's good to see you both," she greeted in a friendly tone.

"Hello Mrs. Tonks," I said, mumbling a bit.

"Hello Andromeda," my dad responded shaking her hand. "How are you on this fine winter's morning?"

"Quite well, thank you Harry. Ted's in the living room. He claims he's studying but I expect he's really just waiting for you and James. Can I get you some tea or something?"

"Tea would be lovely thank you Andromeda," my dad replied as we followed Mrs. Tonks into the house. Almost as soon as the door was shut Mrs. Tonks was bustling off to the kitchen to make the tea. I followed my dad quietly into the living room.

"Hey Ted," my dad greeted his godson, sitting down on the armchair across from the couch where Teddy was.

"Hi Harry, hi James," Teddy said smiling and waving slightly. He was looking so much better than he had, I could barely believe that less than forty-eight hours ago he'd come so close to death.

"Hi Teddy," I said avoiding his gaze.

"Ted, James has something he wants to say to you," my dad said looking at me. "James?" I took a deep breath before starting.

"Teddy it's my fault you got sick. I spiked the pumpkin juice with a color changing potion that had something in it you were allergic to. I didn't realize you were and I'm sorry. You almost died and it's all my fault and you're probably going to hate me forever, but I'm really sorry." I said all of that really quickly and then I looked down at my shoes.

"It's okay James. I don't hate you," Teddy said.

"You don't?" I asked looking up.

"No I don't. I knew there was something in the juice the moment I saw you drinking water. Pumpkin juice is your favorite James. If you weren't drinking it there had to be something up. I figured it was a hair color changing prank because I played one when I was a first-year."

"Yeah, I remembered your stories and that's where I got the idea," I interrupted him, "but I decided to prank the whole castle instead of just the Slytherins." I saw Teddy and dad smile at the memory of the whole of Slytherin house with bright pink hair on Valentine's Day six years ago.

"The point is James, I didn't have to drink the juice when I knew it was spiked. Besides, I had no idea I'd be allergic to it, so how could you have known? It's not your fault I got sick, or even that I drank the potion really," Teddy smiled at me and I was glad he wasn't mad. He was like an older brother to me. I would've missed him if he hated me and never talked to me again like I'd expected. I knew though that I wouldn't be playing a prank again anytime soon as long as there was a chance it would hurt someone.


End file.
